A Regime Change
by Fridian
Summary: -You know Mrs. Mooney. Sales've been so dreary, poor thing is penniless- Mrs. Lovett stops by to pay a visit to an old friend.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd. Oh but if I did... hehe. **

**Official Word Count: 1052**

**Enjoy! And thank you for reading:3 **

After flipping over the 'open' sign in the front door of her modest pie shop, Mrs. Mooney slowly sank down in a booth close to the door. It hadn't always been like this, business that is. It hadn't been all that long ago that her meat pies were the best thing this side of the Altantic, but everything suddenly changed. On the other side of Fleet Street sat her only competition. And that competition was beating her over big time; it was Mrs. Lovett's World Famous Meat Pie Emporium. Ever since Mrs. Lovett had reopened her shop, she had been wiping the floor with her own pussycat –pies.

Mrs. Mooney looked out the window; people hustled by to and fro without even passing a wayward glance at the once thriving pie shop. She wondered if this is what Mrs. Lovett felt like when her business was slow. With a heavy sigh the baker hauled herself up and she slowly walked back behind the dusty counter. She was doomed to have another slow business day, and probably a few more slow days before she saw any business again at all.

Looking aimlessly around for a moment, Mrs. Mooney sighed again, picked up a spare rag, and turned around to clean the remaining gristle out of the small oven in the front. As soon as she turned her back to the door, the tiny 'ring' of the entrance bell at the door caught her attention. For the first time in weeks she had a customer! She took a deep breath in, getting ready to greet her mystery guest. And as soon as she whipped around with a smile, it faded. In the doorway stood the person she really didn't want to see at the moment: Nellie Lovett.

The pool of sudden excitement that had welled up inside of her quickly drained, as did the wide smile that had been on her face. She frowned at the other baker, hoping to make the message clear that she did not want to talk to her right now. She set the rag back on the counter and continued to send her glare of disdain towards Mrs. Lovett.

Mrs. Lovett on the other hand deliberately ignored Mrs. Mooney's cold shoulder, she got one far worse every day from a certain barber who works above her pie shop. "Anabelle…" Mrs. Lovett started hesitantly.

"Nellie, no." Anabelle Mooney made it clear in that she did not want to be a part of this conversation. "I'm busy, come back and we can talk later." She quickly picked up her rag and went to turn around.

"Wait!" Mrs. Lovett said, this time with a more urgent tone. She stepped into the shop a bit more. "Anabelle, we've been friends for a long time. We can't let a, um, regime change tear us apart. We didn't last time; we shouldn't let it happen now." She offered a smile to her old friend. She didn't want to end up on a bad note with her only remaining childhood friend, but she wasn't exactly sure if Anabelle felt the same.

Before answering, Mrs. Mooney looked her old friend over. Mrs. Lovett looked much more polished and tidy now than she had in a long time. A new dress, new shoes, and even a seemingly new devious look in her eye, she noticed all of these things and took them into consideration. Then thinking about herself for a moment, Mrs. Mooney came to a conclusion. Sometimes her business would do well, other times it would suffer, just Like Mrs. Lovett's. Sooner or later Nellie's shop would be in trouble and her own would be profiting. It was the way of the world these days.

With a tiny smile creeping onto her face, Mrs. Mooney looked her friend in the eye. "Good to see you again." Her smile grew as she spoke. "It's petty isn't it? The way our shops work. When one is good the other is terrible, so, it seems like we both lose. Well, in a non-profiting kind of way mind you." Her grin turned sheepish. "So, Nellie my friend, my greatest apologies for the way I was sulking. I guess I liked it when my shop was the one doing better, and you were the one coming to me for help." Anabelle shrugged.

"Oh Ana!" Mrs. Lovett retorted with a laugh, "Now, now. We have to share and share a like, including the title of best pie shop." She winked at Mrs. Mooney. "I was just stoppin' in to see if you we alright. You can shop by my shop anytime you need anything. If I don't get back soon poor little Toby will be stuck with the lunch crowd." Nellie Lovett waved then turned to the door to leave.

"Well," Mrs. Mooney began before her friend could step out of the door, "You could tell me the secret to those wonderful pies you make, you know, share and share alike." She was only half-kidding when she brought up the idea.

For a moment, when Mrs. Lovett turned around, Mrs. Mooney could've sworn she saw a nervous look on the other woman's face. But, that thought quickly fled her mind as Nellie Lovett smiled and shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, Anabelle. Us bakers are like magicians, ya know. We never tell our secrets. You know that." With another wink Mrs. Lovett strolled out the door. And as soon as she was out of the door Nellie walk turned to a fast paced almost-jog. She suddenly seemed to be in a hurry.

"Hm, the lunch rush, eh?" Mrs. Mooney said with a distant look on her face. "I remember what that was like." With a light sigh she came back down to Earth and picked up the rag and began dusting off the counter. Her thoughts turned to Mrs. Lovett, her and their pie shops. It was an odd waltz that the two shops on Fleet Street did, but it was a good one. Mrs. Mooney smiled as she moved to the tables, which needed dusting as well.

She knew her day in the sun would come again. She figured she could share the glory with Mrs. Lovett… for a little while anyway.

**There you have it. I didn't know Mrs. Mooney's first name, so I made it up. I think it sounds okay. :3**

** I hope you all enjoyed it. It may seem a tad-bit OC, but I tried. It's my first Sweeney Todd fanfic, so please try to take it easy. ; But, if you spot any spelling errors or anything that needs to be fixed just let me know. I'll be happy to fix it. **

**I've truly loved the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd for a few years now. Yet, it was the movie that really inspired me to pick up the pen. **

**Hope you liked it, if you did, please review. :3 **** Thank you!  
**


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